


Welcome to the Future

by BossBot97



Series: WTTF [1]
Category: Transformers Generation One
Genre: Human-formers, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-01
Updated: 2014-02-20
Packaged: 2017-12-22 01:28:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 7,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/907282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BossBot97/pseuds/BossBot97
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Somehow, the Generation One Transformers end up our time, under the guise of humans! Will the Autobots adjust to their new forms? Did Wheeljack's latest experiment land them there? Where will they live?  What will they do? Read on to find out.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Autobot Arrival: Wave One :Prowl

**Author's Note:**

> Heyy guys! Hope you like this. Plot bunny bit me.

= In a police car, on the far side of a rest stop, just under the trees =

I got up slowly that orn, a foggy haze in my processor. I tried to stretch my peds, but I was in too confined an area. Why didn't I know that? I reached behind myself, trying to see if my doorwings were okay. My roaming hands could not find them. I started to panic, quickly unshuttering my optics, only to find it was too bright for them to handle. They closed again, automatically squeezing tighter than before. That didn't make any sense. I tried again to see, painfully keeping them open against the harsh sunlight. My vision adjusted slowly. I found myself in the backseat of a suspiciously familiar automobile. I cautiously stepped out of my cramped position and stretched. It was at this point I realized that I was no longer wholly black and white. My servos, from just above the center joint up to my shoulder, were black with a golden police badge just below the seam, but from there down... They looked to be a dark brown fleshy tone- Wait. Fleshy? The vehicle, similar to my police car alt mode, was the correct size for me to fit in. My doorwings were missing, with no phantom sensations, pains or no. Could it be-? No. I squashed that thought immediately. Completely illogical. Illogical? Why doesn't it hurt? What if-? I ran an internal diagnostic, hoping against hope that everything would turn up alright. Why won't my diagnostics run? My battle computer did not chime in with its usual percentages. My mind felt so empty without it adding to my every thought. I unconsciously rubbed my chin. And it moved slightly under my motions. That cemented the thought in my mind. I was somehow human.


	2. Prime

= In the sleeper cab of a semi, near the police car =

I awoke on a very soft berth, plenty large enough to hold all of me. I heaved a sigh, putting my servos comfortably behind my helm. Another day of leading the Autobots, I thought, Possibly another day of Decepticon attacks. Hopefully not. I chuckled, finally onlining my optics. I stared up at a low ceiling, definitely not large enough to house my root mode, and definitely not Ark-orange. This ceiling was blue. A dark blue, reminding me of the inside of my alt mode. For some reason, the humans' parting statement worked it's way to the forefront of my mind. 'We're going home, just in case something goes wrong with Wheeljack's experiment.' My optics shuttered closed and open once, rapidly. I was confused. I turned my helm to look at my surroundings, surprised to find myself in a reasonable facsimile of a humans quarters. In this strange room I found myself in, there was also several pieces of equipment. One was large and silver, with a black bar down the left front. Another was very short and rested on a smallish piece of wood at approximately human eye level. A third was set to the other wall and consisted of a flat black top, several knobs, and a horizontal bar towards the top front. There was a lamp attached to the ceiling which softly illuminated the cabin. I recognized a pattern on the floor, lines attacking each other at every turn, the same as my alt mode. That made me think. I twisted my body off the berth. As I did so, I noticed a reflective piece set into the wall. I stood, my helm nearly touching the ceiling, and walked over to it. I walked as though I'd had a barrel of high grade last night. I needed to hold onto the berth to remain vertical. The mirror (I believe that's what it's called...) proved my guesses correct. I was fully human. What did you do now, Wheeljack? My upper armor (shirt?) was blue on top mixing with red flames at the bottom. From the waist down, the covering was loose, varying in color between a black-blue main and a bright silver-blue stripe down the front of each ped- no, leg. The dimensions were completely off for me. The torso was too long, the chest and shoulders too small, the waist too wide, and the legs too short. Despite the awkward way I held myself, I found my thoughts getting closer and closer to damn. And not 'Damn, I'm in a human form.' More like 'Damn, this human form is hot.' And then 'Damn it, stop thinking that.'


	3. Jazz

= In a white vehicle, in the middle of the woods =

When I came out of recharge that morning, there was a warm weight on my lap. I didn't worry, I knew it was Blaster. I onlined my optics, reaching out to stroke his helm. I froze. Instead of Blaster's red horned helm, a bundle of fur caught my optics, and a humanoid face pressed against my chest. That didn't look like my chest, but I could feel the humanoid there so it had to be, right? It was fully white as far as I could see, with the exception of a row of black human glyphs spelling 'ROCK ON!' The curly haired red-head in my lap shifted, its eyes still closed, squeezing its arms around my body. My treacherous body! Heating up! At the touch of a human no less! 

His head turned up, exposing a glyph on its cheek. A Cybertronian glyph, to be exact. It read 'confidence'. I rubbed my own human thumb over the mark, and sighed resignedly. The same as Blaster's. The human form in my lap sighed contentedly, mumbling sleepily, "G' mornin' Jazzy." He spoke using Blaster's voice even. Of course... I bit my lower lip, wondering how to say this. He turned his head to me, rested his chin on my chest. I held the back of his head as he opened his eyes.

"Mornin' Blastah." He had beautiful, frightened, energon-blue eyes. He instantly let go of me, pressing against the seat -seat?- in an attempt to get up. "Its jus' me, Sparklet." I held him to my chest, looking him straight in his eyes, massaging the small of his back.

"Jazz?"

"Yes?"

"Are we seriously in human forms, laying on each other, in the back of your alt form?"

"In the back of my-?" I look around seeing that we are in the back of a vehicle, and a faded red 'n' yellow boom box is sitting in the front passenger seat, "Um, yeah that about sums it up."

Blaster rubbed his face into my human chest, wrapping his arms around me once more. "I don't know about you, but I kinda like this form. You're more cuddly."

"And you're more fuzzy." I teased, "What of it?" I rubbed the curly red hair affectionately, pleased by the resulting purr. He pressed closer to me and I gave up any thought of finding the others just yet.


	4. Arrival of the Autobots: Wave Two: Prime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another 'bot' wakes up, Prowl finally 'glitches', and they begin to group up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is going easier than expected. For somebots.

= Back in the semi =

I shoved my unruly thoughts from my mind, concentrating on the fact that if I woke up like this, this far from Wheeljack's lab, most of the others probably did too. I paced the small room, getting the hang of walking in my new form, before stumbling over a pair of black boots. Recognizing them for what they were, I carefully put them on, recalling how Sparkplug retied his laces when his boots came undone. Once I did that, and stood up without falling over, I felt I could venture out to find the others. I exited the front driver's side door, and found myself face to face with another human. "Excuse me." I proffered, stepping back to allow him through.

"Optimus?" My eyes widened in shock. I took in the black and white color palette of his clothing, and the police badges on his shoulders. That, coupled with a necklace sporting the Autobot emblem, brought me to a simple conclusion.

"Prowl?" He held out the necklace.

"Do you have one as well?" I proffered my right hand, the middle finger housing a long silver ring with a transparent blue stone. If one looked, as Prowl did, one would see the symbol he was searching for, hidden deep within. Curved around the top of the ring was Cybertronian long hand for 'Protector', and the bottom was inscribed with 'Leader'. Whole-word glyphs down the sides read 'Unity Trust Peace' and 'Life Liberty Happiness'. Prowl's necklace was metal, coated in what looked like white gold. Flipping it over, I found the other side said 'Serve Save Protect' twice, English lined up on the left, Cybertronian whole-word down the right.

Looking away from the Earth-metal emblems, I spotted a white car with triple red and green stripes. I pointed it out, believing it to be Wheeljack. Evidently, Prowl agreed, as he turned wordlessly, walking toward the car. Looking in the window, I saw a boy. He looked to be a little older than Spike. He wore a white shirt with red and green stripes on the hems and no sleeves. The tops of his legs were covered with red shorts, green stripes down each side. The boy had erratic light brown hair, sticking up in odd places. His skin was pale, almost white. Adorning his shoulder was the mark we were searching for. A black tattoo of the Autobot symbol. I rapped on the window, waking him. A crooked finger and a sharing of symbols later, Wheeljack was swearing up and down that he didn't do this, and that he was in his berth one minute, asleep, and here, being awoken by us the next.

"I swear this was not me! My last experiment, the personalized warp gates, was a total success! I warped from my lab to my berth and back twice, with absolutely no problems!" I sighed, back to square one I suppose. "Honest to Primus! Not a single glitch this time!"

"Then I suppose all we can do is find the others."

"Others?" Prowl asked, surprised.

"There's a lot of space between your office, my room, and Wheeljack's room. Even if Wheeljack is not the cause of this, all three of us were affected and it stands to reason anyone else in the 'blast radius' would have been sent along with us. Even with assuming Wheeljack and I were on the outside extremities of the diameter, that still leaves several mechs in the area. All personnel walking those halls, all mechs in their quarters."

"That gives us the three of us, Blaster and his cassettes, Ratchet, the Twins, Jazz, most of the minibots, Bluestreak, Ironhide and Chromia..." He tics them of his fingers as he lists them off. "Maybe a few others, I don't know! I don't have duty rosters, or room assignments, or an annoying battle computer spewing statistics!" He grabbed his head with both hands, his fingernails digging grooves into his soft scalp, and he starts to hyperventilate.

"Prowl." I spoke, calmly stepping closer to him. I gently grabbed his hands and carefully pried then from his head. "You will injure yourself if you continue in this manner." He went limp, collapsing into my arms. I picked him up bridal style and walked him back to the truck I woke in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like this, comment.  
> If you don't like it, comment.  
> If you find a mistake, comment.  
> If you just wanna say hi, go ahead and comment.  
> If you have suggestions, comment.  
> If you have a character you want me to torture (figuratively), comment.  
> Just comment. I live off comments.  
> (If you read this, comment '#mee2')


	5. Wheeljack

= Near the striped Lancia =

Something buzzed and made a loud noise from inside my shorts. I found, in subspace-like pockets, a cell phone. It was the source of the ruckus. It read, 'swipe to talk'. Alright. I swiped the green arrow, and a picture of Bluestreak appeared on the screen. I held the phone to my head, as I had seen Spike do when his father called him home. "Hello? Blue-"

"Oh Primus! I'm so glad you picked up! I was in my berth, minding my own business, then I wake up out in the middle of nowhere in some stupid forest. I mean, I don't have anything against forests or anything, but when its the only thing for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and-"

"Bluestreak!" He paused his frantic rant, also apparently crashing into a bush, by the noises he made. "Where are you?"

"Um. Hang on I think I know how to do this..." *Click* The phone made an irritated beeping noise at me. As soon as it finished, it got a ping with GPS coordinates. Then Prime stepped out of his cab.

"Prime! I found Blue!" As I said this, I got pinged a couple more times, and so did Prime. "And Mia! And the Twins, and Cliff!"

"I have the presumed coordinates of Huffer, Gears, and Bumblebee. Bumblebee has informed me that rest of the minibots are with him and they will rendezvous at Bluestreak's position. ETA: unknown."

"Alright, I'll tell the other's to rendezvous at Blue's position. Meanwhile, what are we going to do about Prowl?"

"What would really help is finding Ratchet. Contact each Autobot to find out if Ratchet is with them."

"On it, boss." I used the texting function on my phone to send out a mass message. (If I ever see Spike again, I'll have to thank him for letting me use his for practice.)

 

-  
Heyy! Wheeljack here! Everyone needs to rendezvous at Bluestreak's position. We also need to find Ratchet. Does anyone know where he is???

Prime and Prowl are here with me.  
Jack  
-

 

All anyone had for us was a variation of 'No, what's wrong'.

_  
Not a clue where ratchet is. Try a hospital maybe. Is prowl ok.  
Also i forgot to mention that hide is here with me.  
Mia  
_

_  
Whos hurt  
Lambos  
_

_  
Haventseenhimareyouhurtcantdothisrightarghelp  
Cliff  
_

_  
Hey Jackie. I'm gonna sit tight. Everybody has decided to come to my little slice of Pit here, so see you soon? I haven't seen Ratchet, but thank Primus I don't need him. I'll try his comm. Did Prowl glitch, or whatever it's called in this human frame, or are you seriously injured? And where's your 'bot symbol? Mine is stitched into my shirt.

I do have a minor med kit, I kept it in my subspace at all times, now it's just out here and cumbersome. Do you need help? I'm still pretty fast as a human, so shout if you need me. Well not literally, cause I wouldn't hear you, but you get my drift, right?  
Bluestreak  
_

 

Blue made me chuckle. Even in text he rambled. I even sent my message to the line affectionately marked 'Hatchet', with no response. Where is he? Where is Ratchet?


	6. Arrival of the Autobots: Communication is Key: Ratchet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally get to find out what happens to Ratchet.

= On a gurney in an ambulance

Ratchet's POV

My optics flickered online fuzzily. I tried to sit up, but the glaring lights of the ambulance hurt too much for me to think properly. My head falls back to a surprisingly soft resting place. A human hand presses against my head, "Stay down, sir."  
  
I felt as though I'd had several cubes of high grade before going to recharge. I know I'd had none. I tried to check my energy levels. No response came from my processor, but a second human voice spoke. "Blood pressure!"  
  
"53/40 and falling!" The first voice replied. My eyes shot open, ignorant of my surroundings. Blood pressure? 53/40? And falling?

"Heart rate!" The second voice demanded.  
  
"34 beats per minute, but stable!" If those were truly my stats, my human stats, that would explain my feeling overcharged... "Patient's adrenaline just spiked!" The first voice said.  
  
"Good, that should help bring him up! Knock him out, and start him on one unit of whole blood, stat!" Something jabbed into my neck, and I lost consciousness.

* * *

My eyes slowly blinked open. My processor was sluggish. I felt as Prime felt when he was resurrected that last time. As my surroundings blurred into focus, I began to notice two things. One was a steady double blipping sound. I believed that was a heart monitor. The other was a mechanical buzzing sound, accompanied by a cacophony of voices yelling 'Hey! Richard!' Another few kliks, and the voices resolved into one soft voice, and a human hand slapping my fleshy cheek. "Richard, wake up. Your team needs you." Hey, wait a second. I recognize that voice.

"Perceptor?" I responded weakly, "Is that you?"  
  
"Yes it's me, Percy." He emphasized his name, reminding me that we are currently human.  
  
"Perce." I breathed a sigh, happy for the fact I wasn't alone like this. Still, more importantly... "What happened, Perce?" I reached for him, hoping he'd get the double meaning. He grabbed my hand and drew the glyphs for understanding and patience. He'd understood.  
  
"You were sleeping in your car, and a drunk driver crashed into you, head-on."  
  
"Extent of the damage?"  
  
"Considering your position, and the velocity of the oncoming vehicle, slight. You have ruptured the dermal layers of armor in this body. Some are slight, barely bleeding, while others have scraped the skeletal structure of your current frame."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"One, the most severe, is lodged in your thoracic cage. The surgeons cannot remove it without vital damage." One of his hands ghosted over my lower left ribs, gently touching my injury.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may want to check out the [companion](http://archiveofourown.org/works/972512) [stories](http://archiveofourown.org/works/966947).


	7. Jackie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Also, we get to tease Jackie. Isn't that fun?

= Treking through the woods =

Wheeljack's POV

I'm glad Prime stayed with Prowl. Prowl would kill me if he'd gotten up. The only downside is that I'm now stuck following the little blips on this cell phone, hoping it will lead me to Bluestreak and the others. I held it flat in my palm, carefully zooming in as far as I could while keeping Bluestreak's blip and mine in view. I'd left the paved surface we started at in favor of forest long ago. Two of the other blips were closing in on my position. I paused, tensing up, unsure of the cause. I placed my cell in my pocket, and brought one closed fist up to my face, feeling quite vulnerable without my face mask. The other I held close to my waist. My eyes shuttered half shut, and I wondered at the purpose. Suddenly, my vision held a red blur, and I was knocked to the ground with a human sitting on my fuel tanks. I could only assume it was Sideswipe. The male looked older than me, but was actually a bit shorter. He wore a red shirt with the sides cut off. I noticed the Autobot symbol tattooed on his left shoulder, and a ruby earring in his right ear. He leaned forward, his weight supported by his right arm on my shoulder. He smirked, tracing the tattoo on my other shoulder with one finger. He drew his hand around my neck, following the stripes. "Wheeljack." He says with finality. "I caught Wheeljack."  
  
"Yes, you did, brother." I took the advantage I had, that he was primarily balanced on my left side, to roll over, effectively reversing our positions. That brought a gasp from them both. The yellow twin's was of surprise, the red's, of necessity. I had knocked the wind out of him.  
  
"Sideswipe," I mocked him, "I caught Sideswipe."  
  
"Oh, yeah?" Sunstreaker retorted, throwing himself on the pile, "Well I caught the both of you." During the shenanigans, I had not noticed the others encircling us.  
  
"Lambo Sandwich!" One of them yelled, Cliffjumper, I think. I jerked my head up as far as it could go, considering Sunstreaker's weight on me. Once I realized they were all viewing this crudely, I blushed, simultaneously trying to hide my face in Sideswipe's neck and push away from and off him. My arms collapsed, taken out by Sunny, not meant to carry the weight of two full grown humans.  
  
He then had the gall to roll us all over, saying, "I don't even mind bottoming when it can't ruin my paint." I was even more mortified at this. My face now redder than the shirt pressed into it, I squirmed to get free of the pranksters.  
  
"Get off of me!!"  
  
"Not so eager with an audience, now are you?" Everyone burst out laughing at that. I couldn't hide the humiliation. Thankfully, someone came to my rescue, bodily lifting the red twin off of me, and prying me from the other.  
  
Hanging from his hand like a large kitten, I whispered, "Thanks 'Hide."  
  
He put his head next to mine. "Don't worry about it, kid" Ironhide set me down. He looked even more intimidating in this form, if that were possible. Everything about him was big. Not 'Fatso' big, but 'Hulk Hogan' big. He had shoulders probably 1.5 times the size of mine. He was well muscled, not an ounce of fat on him. Despite his size, he did not have adequate covering. His leather top only reached slightly below his ribs. He also wore a thick chain necklace with the symbol of the Primes as a pendant. He gestured the others in for a group hug. My shorts vibrated, breaking up the hug. I fished my phone out, and find a message from 'Hatchet'. Sparklet...

_Heyy Jack. I'm currently incapacitated. Percy is with me, so don't worry about me. What happened to Prowl?_  
 _Ratchet @ Wheeljack_

Bluestreak got a similar message soon after.

_Hello Bluestreak. I am currently incapable of coming to_ _you. However, I have spoken with Wheeljack, and will_ _provide the two of you with my coordinates as soon as I_ _can. Also, Perceptor is with me.  
_ _Ratchet @ Blue_


	8. Blaster

= In the car with Jazz and Blaster =

After cuddling for a while, I get a sinking feeling in my gut. "Jazz?"

"Yeah, Blastah?"

"Have you seen or heard from my cassettes yet? I'm starting to get worried." That was an understatement. My mind was racing to the breaking point, throwing so many harmful scenarios at me.

"I'm sure they're fine, Blaster." If his concern was such that his accent broke... He stroked my head soothingly. "Don't worry about it. They can't be too far, they were recharging in the living room, in their pile, right? Plus you'd know if one of then was hurt."

"Not in this human form!" I protested, "No Sparks equals no spark bonds equals I don't even know if they're ALIVE!!" I heard the rapping of tiny knuckles on glass. I looked up and collapsed in relief.

"Blaster! Blaster, are you ok?" I chuckled and worked one hand free to point behind Jazz's head to the small human outside the window.

"Did you know you're loud when you worry?" I squirmed to get out, that is, until I realized I was hurting Jazz. Once I stopped, he helped me roll over and we both got out. I held Rewind close, then held him at arms length to get a good look at him. My little cassette looked like a little adult, what with his black suit and bow tie. A maroon bow tie.

"What's with the bow tie?" I asked laughingly.

"Don't you know that bow ties are cool? Especially with a British accent?" I laughed at his indignant (falsely British) tone.

"Where are your co-creations?"

"Still in their pile. I didn't want to worry them." He took my hand, leading me forward. I grabbed Jazz, not wanting to leave him behind. He smiled.


	9. Ratchet

= Observation Room =

After explaining as much as he knew, Perceptor handed me a form of comms tech. "It's been buzzing since approximately one Earth hour before you regained consciousness."  
  
I first accessed the list of numbers I had programmed into this phone. There were a few numbers conspicuously missing, namely Red Alert, Inferno, and the Protectobots. Next I accessed new messages. There were several. A few long winded ones from Bluestreak, a couple short and to the point ones from Jackie, and one mean one from 'The Twin Terrors'. I'm serious. That's what their name came up as. They signed it Lambos.  
  
 _Heyy! Wheeljack here! Everyone needs to rendezvous at Bluestreak's position. We also need to find Ratchet. Does anyone know where he is??? Prime and Prowl are here with me._  
 _Jack @ Me_  
  
 _Hey. Hatchet. You gonna come out of hiding anytime soon? Looks like Prowler glitched again. Don't you run away from us. Yes there's subtext, but I wouldn't say it to save my spark._  
 _Lambos @ Me (87* 0'N 45* 13'W)_  
  
 _Ratchet. Sparklet, please come to these coordinates as soon as you can._  
 _Wheeljack @ Me (87* 0'N 45* 13'W)_  
  
 _Hey Ratchet, it's Bluestreak. Can you come to me or should I find you? If you can, please come to the attached coordinates. Otherwise, can you send one of us yours? I think Prowl glitched so we need to get you to him ASAP. Is anyone with you? Most of the others are here._  
 _Blue @ Me (87* 0'N 45* 13'W)_  
  
I replied to my Jackie and Blue, but ignored the Lambos.  
  
 _Heyy Jack. I'm currently incapacitated. Percy is with me, so don't worry about me. What happened to Prowl?_  
 _Ratchet @ Wheeljack_  
  
 _Hello Bluestreak. I am currently incapable of coming to you. However, I have spoken with Wheeljack, and will provide the two of you with my coordinates as soon as I can. Also, Perceptor is with me._  
 _Ratchet @ Blue_  
  
 _Ratchet!! What's wrong with you? Don't tell me you're injured! Is Perce okay too?_  
 _Prowl fell unconscious. He learned of our new forms and panicked at the loss of his battle computer. He is currently unconscious in the back of Prime's truck._  
 _Wheeljack @ Me_  
  
 _What's wrong Ratchet??_  
 _Blue @ Me_  
  
 _I nearly died._  
 _Ratchet @ Jack, Blue_  
  
 _Perceptor is fine. As for Prowl, the humans cannot function at the energy levels he maintains, and the stress of not having his stats in his head did not help.. Allow him to sleep as long as possible, and when he wakes make sure there is sustenance available._  
 _Ratchet @ Wheeljack_  
  
 _I forwarded that to Prime. He is with Prowl. He wants to know what kind of food Prowl needs._  
 _What is your condition? Tell it to me straight._  
 _Jack @ Me_  
  
 _Oh, Primus! Ratchet what happened to you??_  
 _Blue @ Me_  
  
 _What kind of food does he need?_  
 _Prime @ Wheeljack, Me_  
  
 _It doesn't matter. Preferably some protein, if possible._  
 _Me @ Prime, Wheeljack_  
  
 _I had several lacerations over some 2/3 of my person. All but two shards of glass have been removed. Neither are life threatening. I was taken to the human hospital immediately upon waking, due to large amounts of blood loss. I repeat. I will be fine, quit worrying._  
 _Also, UNDER NO CONDITION tell Prowl of my situation. It may worsen his..._  
 _Ratchet @ Prime, Wheeljack, Blue, Ironhide, Chromia, Bumblebee, Jazz, Blaster, Cliffjumper_  
  
 _how_  
 _Cliff @ Me_  
  
 _What caused your condition._  
 _Chromia @ Me_  
  
 _Oh, Primus! How did you get like that? And what's wrong with Prowler?? Blaster's worried too._  
 _Jazz @ Me_

_How severe is your current condition? I hear you. I found some human food in the vehicle I woke in. Meat and pasta will suffice?_  
 _Prime @ Me_

_How bad are you now?_  
 _Jack @ Me_  
  
 _Anybot remember when you guys came back to the Ark after one mission and Spike said you looked like guests of honor at a fifty car pile-up? Well, something like that. Only a lot less cars. Merely 3-4. Apparently I was asleep in the car and a drunk driver pushed me into traffic. I'll live, so calm down!! Is anyone else injured?_  
 _Ratchet @ Cliffjumper, Chromia, Jazz, Prime, Wheeljack (88* 27'N 45* 67'W)_  
  
 _Prowl has apparently suffered from energy deficiency and has collapsed. Per my information, he is under Optimus' care. He will survive, so stop badgering me!!_  
 _Ratchet @ Jazz_

_That should be fine._  
 _Ratchet @ Prime_

_somebotsinawrenchthrowingmood_  
 _Cliff @ Me_

_Yes. That might have made me laugh, if I didn't hurt so much..._  
 _Are you still at the hospital?_  
 _Do you have an ID on the other driver(s)?_  
 _We're fine, but Blaster nearly had a spark attack. Lol._  
 _Jazz @ Me_

_I remember. Where was Percy during all this?_  
 _Are you sure you'll be okay?_  
 _Just my pride..._  
 _Jack @ Me_

_LOL??? What do you find funny about a spark attack??_  
 _No IDs, and for the moment. I will be discharged soon._  
 _What happened to Blaster??_  
 _Ratchet @ Jazz_

_Keep me apprized. Prime out._  
 _Prime @ Me_

_Are you still in the hospital._  
 _Chromia @ Me_

_Scrap. He just freaked out when he couldn't connect to his cassettes. He's fine. Oh! Guess what Rewind said when he found us._  
 _Jazz @ Me_

_No problem. See you soon._  
 _Ratchet @ Prime_

_I will be in the hospital for a varied observation period that follows surgery. The human medics that I have spoken with assure me it will be no later than tomorrow that I will be discharged to those coordinates. Who is at the previously supplied coordinates (87* 0'N 45* 13'W)? Where are those that are not?_  
 _Ratchet @ Jazz, Cliffjumper, Chromia, Wheeljack_

_What Jazz, what?_  
 _Ratchet @ Jazz_

_He said, 'did you know you're loud when you're worried?'! I thought it was hysterical!!_  
 _Jazz @ Me_

_Both Twin Terrors, Blue, Hide, Mia, Bee, Cliff, Huffer, Gears, and Brawn are at those coordinates. Prime and Prowl are about 9 mi SW of this position._  
 _Jack @ Me_

_Blaster, his cassettes and I are at these coordinates._  
 _Jazz @ Me (87*30'N 46*1'W)_

I forwarded each message to the other group.

_Both Twin Terrors, Blue, Hide, Mia, Bee, Cliff, Huffer, Gears, and Brawn are at those coordinates. Prime and Prowl are about 9 mi SW of this position._  
 _Jack @ Ratchet @ Jazz_

_Blaster, his cassettes and I are at these coordinates._  
 _Jazz @ Ratchet @ Jack (87*30'N 46*1'W)_

_Along with Perceptor and I here, does that account for all the human-formed mechs?_  
 _Ratchet @ Jack, Jazz_

_Far as we know. That accounts for all the mechs on my 'contacts list', and there are noticeable gaps. Red and Inferno for example. That seems to resonate with our assumption that they are not here, as the same mechs are missing from all our lists._  
 _Jack @ Me, Jazz_

_I also noticed the Protectobots missing, as well as Arcee and Elita-1._  
 _Jazz @ Jack, Me_

_Same here. I know that isn't everyone..._  
 _Ratchet @ Jack, Jazz_

_Oh! Anyone have Firestar or any femmes besides Chromia??_  
 _Ratchet @ Jack, Jazz_

_ihaveyoudoesthatcount_  
 _Cliff @ Me_

I just ignored that one...

_None here._  
 _Jack @ Me, Jazz_

_Here either..._  
 _Jazz @ Jack, Me_  
  
 _Can we meet at the coordinates I have provided in 2 days time?_  
 _Ratchet @ Prime, Jack, Jazz (88* 27'N 45* 67'W)_

_Sounds fine._  
 _Jack @ Jazz, Me, Prime_

_Alright. Hope I have fuel..._  
 _Jazz @ Me, Prime, Jack_

_If not, look for a fuel pump. Humans have been known to stash their currency in the glove compartment, located under the dashboard._  
 _Prime @ Jack, Jazz, Me_

_See you soon, Old Friend._  
 _Prime @ Me_

_Stay well, my Prime._  
 _Ratchet @ Prime_

_I hear ya, Prime. See y'all soon!!_  
 _Jazz @ Me, Prime, Jack_

_Separate for short, together for long._  
 _Jack @ Me_

_Together forever. Love you, Wheeljack..._  
 _Ratchet @ Jack_

_Love you too, Sparklet. Miss the sparkbond. Feel empty._  
 _Jack @ Me_

_Me too... I count the astroseconds._  
 _Ratchet @ Jack_

My human form cannot hide emotion well. Perceptor asks too many introspective questions. Bots are injured. What's new? I can only hope they all get there safely...


	10. Spotlight: Percy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> = A bit earlier =

Perceptor woke slowly, his head on a lab table, his phone loudly going off. He subconsciously answered it with a groggy hello.  
"Is there a Mr. Percy Bott here?"  
"This is Percy."  
"Do you know a Mr. Richard Bott?"  
Percy paused a moment, remembering that Richard was the name Ratchet took if and when he used his holoform. "Yes. Why do you ask?"  
"Mr. Richard is in the hospital. There was an accident, and he ended up severely injured." He was well awake then. Awake enough to realize the situation, and to be afraid.  
"How do I get to the hospital?" The foreign words fell awkwardly from his mouth.  
"We can send a cab to pick you up, if you like."  
"Thank you." The other end of the line went dead. Perceptor glanced around the room he woke in. It was a laboratory, a red microscope sitting near him. There were lots of prepped slides near it, and, where his head was laying, a crumpled stack of paperwork. Perceptor wondered at how he'd gotten into this situation, and at who else did...

Not too long later, he was on the curb, getting into the taxi. "Heading to the hospital on 4th and 39th?"  
"That is correct."  
"Hop in, Laddie" Once Perecptor sat down (he'd learned to put on his seatbelt, after one too many rides with Sideswipe), the cabbie peeled away from the curb.


	11. Prowl

= in the back of the semi cab with Prime and Prowl =

I woke to feeling as though someone was watching me. I recalled what happened just before I passed out. I huffed out a burst of warm air. Hearing a motion behind me, I asked, "Optimus? PLEASE tell me we are not humans."

Optimus chuckled at that. "Do you wish me to lie?"

I heaved a sigh and curled tighter, wrapping one hand around my head. A pair of warm hands grasped my other. He began moving his thumbs, digging them into my palm. At first it was a little painful, but the pain soon turned to mush. Along with my hand. And lower arm. Once my hand was thoroughly mush, he began ghosting his hand up and down my arm and side. "Give me your other hand." His voice was so deep, not commanding, yet... there was something in his voice that made me roll over to free my other arm. Maybe it was just the mush spreading to my brain. My stupid human brain. I squeezed my legs tighter to my chest, my stupid human chest. My body jerked from the effort to hide my tears. "Prowl?" His hands stopped their motions, and I mewled at the loss. Stupid human noises. "Prowl, look at me." I tilted my head towards his voice, still not opening my eyes. "You can't look with your eyes closed, Prowl."

"Why not?" I muttered childishly.

"It goes against the human 'laws of physics'."

"And I suppose I have to work with these laws now that I'm human?"

"Yes." He laughed at me. _He Laughed_ at _Me_!! Now I know I've, oh, what's that human saying?, just flown over the cuckoos nest. Yeah, that's it. I reluctantly opened my eyes, only to find Optimus' face wayyyyy to close to mine. I was frozen in place by his eyes. I had to get away from those eyes. Those damn eyes. My legs jerked uselessly, and as he started to work on my hand again, even that ceased as I turned to mush again. "Relax, Prowl. This is much more enjoyable if you relax." His eyes opened wider, oddly getting almost more stern as they opened. After that hand turned to complete mush too, he had me lean against the wall with my feet in his lap. He pressed a bowl of red mush into my hands. "Eat up. Ratchet said it should help."

"This is human fuel? hhh." I shuddered, hoping this was a dream, and that I would (soon) wake up with my Cybertronian helm laying on my Cybertronian desk, in my Cybertronian office, in the Cybertronian Ark. But no such thing did occur... I carefully began picking apart and eating the fuel, while Optimus worked on my feet. I was so happy with what Optimus was doing to my feet, I could almost forget I wasn't consuming energon. Almost.

"What's the plan?" I had to ask. Optimus worked in silence a few more moments before responding.

"We intend to rendezvous with Ratchet and Perceptor, and Jazz, Blaster, and his cassettes."

"Full sitrep?"

Optimus sighed before answering, "Ratchet is the only injured, nothing to worry about. Apparently, some 2/3 of the Ark's crew is in human form. Perceptor is with Ratchet, Jazz Blaster and the cassettes are at a second location, and all the others are going to rendezvous here before we go to meet up with the others."

"What happened to Ratchet?" Optimus declined to answer. "Is our one and only medic in serious danger?"

Optimus breathed a sigh. Of relief I thought. "No. He-" Optimus bit the inside of his cheek, looking decidedly uncomfortable. He gently patted my leg and retreated to the front of the vehicle. I sat the now-empty bowl on the berth and stared at the door hiding my Prime.


	12. Nightstalker

= in the clearing of cassettes =

I woke to what sounded like a branch breaking. Before I even onlined my optics, I was confused at how there seemed to be branches, breaking branches, in our living room. Once I onlined them, however, it was much more confusing. Though I do remember falling into recharge (more like stasis) next to Ravage at one point, so this couldn't be any more confusing than waking up from that. I was in the middle of a cassette pile, (again.) in the middle of a small clearing, devoid of just enough trees for our resting place. I tried not to squirm, tried not to wake my co-creations, but above me, Steelie was already awake. He gently climbed off my back, giving me room to stretch my... My furry peds?? I quickly looked myself over, covered from nose to tail with the sleek black fur. My mind ran through the possibilities. Could it be a prank? No. I would have woken up bright pink, or some other stupid color, not my usual black. Could my co-creations and I have gone out for a midnight romp? Possible, but that would not explain the fur. Nor why I did not remember coming here. I ran through several, increasingly stupid ideas, until I hit on Wheeljack's latest invention. Most likely. He was creating warp gates recently, and that would account for the displacement, and I suppose the mech has got a penchant for making things not work the way they're supposed to. As my gaze traversed the clearing, I noticed Steeljaw was furry too, and in his own colors, not mine. I also noticed Eject, still laying where he'd been on the bottom. After a moment, I started to panic, ~Steelie, where's Rewind??~ As I reached for the bond to push the words across, I was struck with a few facts. 

1) I no longer had spark bonds. With Blaster or my co-creations.  
2) My ESP sensors were gone, leaving me with only sight, touch, smell, taste, and hearing.  
3) I don't have a spark.  
4) Rewind was missing.  
5) Eject was fleshy! 

Conclusion: An experiment gone wrong transported myself and my co-creations to this spot in the woods, at the same time changing us into organics.

Query: Where is Rewind? Where is Blaster? How do we fix this?

Steelie pressed his little wet nose into my side. I opened my optics- no, eyes. He gestured to the ground, where he had drawn Cybertronian whole word glyphs.   
'small communication, unknown location, organic, Blaster carrier gone, Rewind searching.' 

I drew a single glyph in reply. 'time' 

He responded, 'here organic unknown, Blaster carrier gone unknown, searching breams back soon.' 

'comfort gratitude' I pressed my nose into Steeljaw's side. 

He laid down, tracing the glyphs, 'comfort safety.' He gestured to his flank. I looked from him, to the glyphs, and back. Taking the offer as a chance to cuddle with my elder co-creation, I lay down, half on and half off him. I buried my nose, now starting to feel chilly, into the comforting warmth of Steeljaw's neck fur.


	13. Jazz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first group arrives at their safe house.

=In the same clearing=

Jazz POV

Rewind brought Blaster and I to the rest of our cassettes. I sat near Stalker, and the others crowded around Blaster.

The young feline pressed his head into my hand. He delicately raised one claw and traced the glyphs for patience, and reward. The black cat, why earthlings thought of them as bad luck I would never understand, climbed half on my lap, as he wouldn't fit wholly. He closed his cat-eyes and slid his head against my thigh. He purred, and if I'd still had an engine, I would've purred too. As it was, I hummed contentedly and stroked the cat behind its ears until even those in the happy cassette pile heard enough to take notice.

"Stalker?" Blaster was the first to regain his vocalizer. Nightstalker turned towards him, I assumed he was giving Blaster the 'Sides look'. You know, that look you make when someone confronts you on something you did, and you know you did it, and you know he knows you did it, but you still give him that look that says 'What? Do you really think I would do that?' But also screams 'I /so/ did that and you couldn't stop me'. Also, his posture suggested there's a hint of 'Can I keep it?' I slipped a finger under his head, rubbing the under line of the large cat's jaw. The sleek cat shivered, instantly turning his head to me. He traced another glyph on my leg. 'Peace'. "Fine."

"Yeah, whatever. Steelie still loves me, right?" Steeljaw gave Blaster a teasing look, 'you're kidding me, right?', then goes over to curl up by me.

"Well..." I drawled, "Ah've got half your cassettes. Ah wonder if Ah can get the others..." I rummaged through my pockets, taking a few precious moments to pull out a few caramel candies. I unwrapped two and gave them to the cats in my lap. I put another four in my open palm toward the others. At their hesitation, I ate one myself. "Mm. Tastes almost like energon goodies..." At this the bipedal cassettes looked from Blaster to my hand and back.

"Fine, go to Jazz. It doesn't matter to me." Blaster faked tears for his little ones. When his cassettes ran to me, Blaster turned away and sighed. "Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, I'm gonna eat some worms."

The twins grabbed all three still in my hand. Rewind unwrapped the extra, saying, "Why eat worms Carrier? When you can eat this!" Eject barreled Blaster over, and when he gasped for air, Rewind shoved the candy in his mouth. Rewind held his hand over Blaster's mouth so he couldn't spit it out. He gagged on it, trying to get air.

"Suck on it. Savor it. And breathe through your olfactory sensors." I suggested. His gasping chokes changed to small, interested, pleasurable noises as he obeyed.

"Mm. Mm. That's really good, Jazz, did you make these?"

"Originally, Ah believe they were the homemade energon goodies in mah subspace, but it looks like they turned to human food when we became organic."

"Oh..."

"Yeah. Now, let's go find Prime and the others." Blaster nodded his approval, still mostly hidden under his two cassettes.

oOoOo

All six of us squeezed into my car. It was white, and black Cybertronian glyphs spelled 'Special Ops' on one side and 'Music is My Middle Name' on the other. I drove, Blaster sat up front with Stalker in his lap, and that left Rewind, Eject, and Steelie for the back seat. Steeljaw curled up in the middle, the twins on either side of him.

oOoOo

Let's just say it's a heck of a lot harder to drive a car than to drive myself, and leave it at that. At least I knew traffic laws. Blaster sat up front and laughed at my efforts. The twins sat in back and played a human game, rock paper scissors, over Steeljaw. I like that game. It's generally quiet and keeps the troublemakers busy. About an hour in, Steelie tried to stretch out. He kicked both the twins in their heads, and nearly fell off the seat. "Woah, Steelie." Blaster held up his cassette. 'Distance' "Half or better. We should be at the coordinates in about an hour." Steeljaw settled back to wait.

When we got to Ratchet's coordinates, no one was there. That was expected. We went into the small cottage to wait for Ratchet.

**Author's Note:**

> If I screw anything up, let me know. Noone is infallible. Least of all me. I love flames nearly as much as kudos, so comment what you really think okay?
> 
> Hey readers! Eject its going to wake up with a baseball jersey on. What should his # be? 43 or 77? And bonus energon goodies to anyone who can guess to significance of one or both numbers!


End file.
